A PENSIONER has appealed for burglars to return treasured family records snatched in a raid on his house.

Birth, marriage and death certificates dating back to the 1800s were inside the cash box stolen from Alf Clarke's bungalow on Grangeway as he slept.

Burglars climbed through an open window in the early hours of Monday, June 12, and took the box from his desk, along with £9, his passport and his mobile phone.

Mr Clarke says he is desperate to find his parents' and grandparents' certificates so he can pass them on to his son.

He added: 'The material things don't matter, I can always replace them, but to pinch the family records like that made me angry because they won't mean anything to anyone except me.

'It was an old-fashioned cash box, about eight inches by four inches with a little compartment that lifted up. Underneath were birth and marriage certificates for my grandparents, whose surname was Hill.

'Certificates for my mother Elizabeth and father John were there too, along with a little notebook. If they could just give them back, I would be so happy.'

If anyone is willing to return Mr Clarke's belongings, they can post them through the letter-box of the Weekly News office at 75 High Street, Runcorn.